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Dall's Porpoises in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Mount Rainier and Dall's Porpoises Return to the San Juan Islands!

Olivia | September 12th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

What a great day near San Juan Island! Captain Gabe, Co-Naturalist Piper and I headed south through the San Juan Channel to aim for the Strait of Juan de Fuca in hopes of seeing potential whale sightings. We made a stop at Whale Rocks where we were able to view [and listen] to heaps of Steller’s Sea Lions! Loving these large Pinnipeds, it was so great to hear their deep bellows and watch them snooze, play, and swim in the high...

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Humpback Whales in the Strait of Georgia

Three Humpbacks Swimming Near San Juan!

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 09/12/19 | 11:00am

Today was sure an adventurous day!

Captain Pete and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed south down through the San Juan Channel. Once we reached the southern tip of San Juan, we spotted Cattle Point lighthouse as we neared a rock full of wildlife!

We found Steller sea lions! These 12-foot long 2,400 pound animals barked and crawled around the island as they looked for the best rock to nap on. Some of them splashed in the water...

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Southern Residents Near San Juan!

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 09/05/19 | 11:00am

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, random dogs were barking in the distance; it was looking like a great start to our whale watch!

Captain Gabe and I took our new friends out of Friday Harbor on the Kestrel. We headed down south through the San Juan Channel towards Cattle Point.

Along the way we stopped to watch a big bait ball! Swarms of birds were pecking at the surface of the water and diving down to catch fish that were balled...

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Killer Whales in Boundary Pass

Southern Resident Whales Near San Juan!

Jordan | M/V Kittiwake | 08/30/19 | 3:00pm

What a lovely day! Captain Gabe and I sped down through the San Juan Channel, out of Friday Harbor, and past Cattle Point lighthouse, towards the open waters of hope.

The sun had finally come out and the water looked dazzling as it shimmered in the sunlight. We boated and boated following the coast of San Juan and further out towards the Olympic Peninsula.

Then, we found orcas! But, not just any orcas, the southern resident orca whales! This...

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Kittiwake Southern Resident Killer Whales!

Jordan | M/V Kittiwake | 08/30/19 | 11:00am

What a fantastic day out on the water! Captain Gabe and I took the Kittiwake and 10 of our new best friends out of Friday Harbor and south towards hopeful reports of whales.

We knew it was cloudy but wow, once we reached Cattle Point, it turned into one giant wall of fog! We could barely see anything! I was pretty amazed by the odd phenomenon as we boated slowly and avoided other boats on our radar. Then, we burst through the fog into the...

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Amazing Feeding Humpback and Minke Near Lopez!!

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/28/19 | 1:30pm

What a great trip!

Captain Pete, Naturalist Laura and I headed out of Friday Harbor and south down through the San Juan Channel and out into open waters. We passed by Cattle Point lighthouse and towards the Olympic Peninsula, scanning the glassy water for any signs of whales.

We passed by harbor porpoises bursting through the water with their tiny fins and swarms of sea birds everywhere!

Suddenly, Captain Pete caught word of some whale...

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Hungry Whales in the Golden Evening Sun

Olivia | August 26th, 2019 | M/V Kittiwake | 3:00pm

This afternoon, Captain Gabe, our 10 passengers, and I set out on M/V Kittiwake to find whales that were close by! Leaving Friday Harbor, we immediately found a large bait ball that is always a good sign of marine mammals in the area. We headed south down San Juan Channel and found the same family group of Bigg’s Killer Whales from this morning- the T99’s- between Griffin Bay and Cattle Point. They were swimming southwest pointed...

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Orcas and Humpback Found in the North and the South!

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 08/25/19 | 11:00am

We saw so much wildlife today!

Captain Gabe and I boated out of Friday Harbor on the Kestrel and headed south down through the San Juan Channel.

We stopped by huge rocks sitting in the middle of the channel and found Steller sea lions! These massive bouldering creatures crawled around the island, finding places to collapse for a nap.  Others swam in the water, diving between stalks of a bull kelp forest! Really amazing to see the huge animals...

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Mysterious Minke Madness!

 

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/14/19 | 1:30pm

It was a magical minke whale day!

It began with Captain Pete, Naturalist Olivia and I heading out of Friday Harbor on the Sea Lion. We boated south down through the San Juan Channel and past Cattle Point lighthouse. We continued out towards the Salmon Bank, a very shallow body of water off the southern tip of San Juan Island. Here we saw something appear…

It was a minke whale! The big black back and crescent moon shaped dorsal fin emerged...

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So Much Wildlife Near the Olympic Peninsula!

 

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 08/13/19 |

Todays trips were amazing!

It all started as Gabe and I headed south down through the San Juan Channel. We boated towards Cattle Pass and saw the beautiful lighthouse off the southern tip of San Juan.

We then stopped by Whale Rocks and watched a bunch of sea lions! These massive animals lumbered around the island and barked at each other! It was so cool to watch them walking around and sleeping in the sun. So glad that these Steller sea lions are...

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